


A Moment, and a Promise

by Aki (Akiko_Natsuko)



Series: 365 Days of Fandom [4]
Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Promises, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-04 06:57:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17299910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Aki
Summary: It’s a declaration of trust.A promise.A hope that Loki will stay, a plea for him to return when their paths eventually diverge once more and an unspoken vow to wait for him.





	A Moment, and a Promise

   The eyepatch is disconcerting to see, or maybe it's his entire reflection he thinks as he comes to a halt in front of the mirror, allowing himself to look at the damage or rather the changes, for the first time. The black patch makes him think of his father, of a man who had been both inspiration and disappointment, his heart still reeling from the revelations that had followed in the wake of Odin’s death, and for a moment he itches to tear it away, but he knows that what lays beneath is worse. His reflection…well… the man looking back at him was a stranger, neither the young, over-confident God who’d been banished to earth nor the man who had been forged from those hard-learned lessons, and he shivered, feeling adrift in more than one way as the ship rumbled under his feet. So much had changed, so much had been lost, and he knew that the people on board the vessel would be looking to him for answers now, and how could he give them those when he couldn’t even tell himself who the man in the mirror really was?

    It was almost a relief to see something move behind him, the familiar figure emerging from the shadows drawing a wry smile to his lips as he turned away from the mirror. Everything had changed, but Loki hadn’t…there was no way he would be there, offering comfort in that drawled compliment about the patch, but it didn’t stop his quiet ‘thank you’ from being a lot more heartfelt than he’d intended. After all, how many people would have done as he had asked in that situation? He had asked Loki to do what he couldn’t and to risk his life in doing so,  as they’d both known there was a chance that Loki wouldn’t be able to escape in time once he’d started Ragnorock. And in his relief, he’s willing to let go of the fact that he’s wasting the words on an illusion.

    It doesn’t ease the longing for Loki to be there though, and there’s an edge to his voice, a bitterness that he rarely allows himself to give voice to as he adds softly. “If you were really here I might even give you a hug.” He tosses the lid, knowing that it will break the illusion and leave him more alone than ever and it takes him a moment to realise that Loki’s arm is raised, pale fingers curling around the lid, a smile…a real one that melts the ice in his eyes, spreading across his lips as he says the words that set a fire burning through Thor’s veins.

“I’m here.”

     Thor doesn’t remember moving, barely aware of the sound of shattering glass behind him as the drink falls forgotten to the floor. One step – his eyes are locked on Loki, on the fingers around the lid, waiting for it to drop and the image to shimmer out of sight. Two steps – his gaze roves over the smaller man, searching for any sign of weapons or so he tells himself, admitting that it’s a lie as his eye lingers a little too long on a gash in the leather armour. Three steps – he’s starting to believe that this might be real. Four steps – he tells himself not to hope for too much, that even if Loki is here now, there’s no guarantee he’ll stay. Five steps – he’s reaching for Loki. Seeing a flicker of fear in the blue eyes, and then there’s warmth against his fingers, a wonderfully solid arm under his searching hand, and then Loki is pressed against his chest, a half-hearted protest smothered as he pulls him close with a laugh that sounds a little too much like a sob.

“You’re really here.” He expects a mocking response, some quip about needing his eyesight testing or exasperation and he’s caught by surprise when arms snake around him in response and he closes his eye, sinking into the sensation. It grounds him. He might not know who the man in his reflection is anymore, and he might not have the answers for his people just yet. But he knows who Loki is and he knows what he is when he’s with him and as he lets his head fall against Loki’s it feels like he can breathe for the first time since he’d seen Asgard come apart.

“It seems like that should be my line,” Loki murmured after a couple of minutes, no doubt able to feel the way he’s still shuddering for breath, the slight tremble in his grip and Thor blinks for a moment, before nodding silently. _Yes, he’s here too…_ although it doesn’t feel like it, and he panics for a moment when Loki begins to pull away, the feeling of being adrift already trying to seep back in. He doesn’t want to be alone, he doesn’t…  His frantic thoughts skid to a halt as cool fingers draw a pattern across his cheek, leaving a trail of ice in their wake. The chill and slight burn forcing him back into the present and he blinked as he found himself staring into Loki’s bright eyes, and for once the message in them is clear, no lie to be seen. “Thor…” There’s no reverence in his voice, but its softer than Thor has heard it in a long time. “Are you with me?” It’s a question loaded with meaning, layered in ways that Thor isn’t sure he understands, and he nods, focusing on the chill against his cheek, and the warmth in his arms as he murmured.

“Yes.”

      There’s a fresh burst of warmth, this one against his lips, and it takes him a moment to realise that Loki had closed the distance between them, leaning up to kiss him. It’s not the soft, tender meeting that would come from relief, instead, it’s hard, demanding a response that Thor is only too willing to give. _I’m here with you._ The words are there as he leans into the kiss, hands spanning the expanse of Loki’s back pulling him close, grinning as he feels a very deliberate nip against his lip. _And you’re here with me._ It’s a heady realisation, one that grounds him and lifts him up at the same time, fingers mapping out the back under his hands, working his way up until his fingers tangle in dark hair, holding him close. It anchors him, anchors them both and the kiss softens, still not tender, but gentler, more lasting, and Thor can’t quell the noise of disappointment he makes when Loki is the one to break the kiss, although he makes no effort to escape his hold.

“You realise your people are waiting for you.” There’s a world of meaning in his words, but none of the bitterness or longing that Thor might have expected. Loki is reminding him of his duty, his responsibilities, of his new reality, but he’s also offering the choice to stay where he is, to take a bit longer before confronting the future laid in front of him. To be selfish for just a little while. It’s easy to let his thoughts wander to Odin, to ask himself what his father would do and he growls at himself for letting his mind go there. He loved his father, but there’s a new strength within him, a realisation that he doesn’t have to become the man…that he shouldn’t become the man because, in the end, it had been his choices and secrets that had led them here. He is Odin’s son that will never change, but his decisions and his path are his alone, and maybe it is selfish to make them wait, but he can’t forget the stranger in the mirror or the emotions that had bubbled up when he had realised this wasn’t an illusion.

“I think I can stay a little longer,” his voice is firm, a promise and an expression of gratitude all at once, and it’s only when lips close on his that he realises Loki has moved and that for the first time in a long time, they’ve managed to find the right words.

The same path.

*

     They find themselves curled on the couch, entwined in a way that they haven’t been for ages, to the point where its hard to determine where one ends, and the other begins. Thor wishes that they could remain like this, remain as one, but he knows that what he’d said on Sakaar is still true, he’s still him and Loki will always be Loki. This precious moment, so perfect and quiet, is merely the calm before the storm, but the realisation doesn’t hurt as it would have in the past. There’s understanding now, and this moment proves that they will always come back to each other and it softens his sigh as he reaches into the small pouch built into his armour, feeling the coarse brush of hair and hesitating for a moment before pulling it out. “Here, I think that you should have this back,” his voice is soft, the boom of thunder lost in the calm of the storm and Loki frowns before reaching out to take it, eyes flickering between it and Thor’s face.

“You still have this?” Loki murmurs, turning the braid over in his hands and there’s something in his expression that Thor quite can’t put a name to. Awe? Surprise? Sorrow? Whatever, it is it flickers across to fast for him to interpret before he tilts his head to meet Thor’s gaze. “Why?”

“It was something to hold onto…” _When you leave again…_ He had barely managed to save it before his hair had been shaved off, and at the time he hadn’t understood why it was so important to protect it, after all, Loki was alive. He had always been alive, but he’d hidden it, kept it. His fingers twining around it when he suggested that Loki remain on Sakaar, that they take a separate path and now, with Loki wrapped around him, and a clear mind he could admit that he had wanted something tangible to hold onto for when Loki slipped away again.

“I’m here, now aren’t I?”

“Yes,” Thor agrees, and there’s that same note of wonder in his voice that he’d had when he’d first realised that Loki was really on the ship with him, and his fingers are gentle as they trace the curve of Loki’s cheek. “But for how long?” He wants to believe that this moment will endure, that for once Loki will stay by his side, but he can’t forget the past, the tricks, the distance that has come between them time and time again.

He can’t forget that they’re different.

   Loki opens his mouth as though to argue, but the words don’t come, because they both know it’s a valid question. It’s in Loki’s nature to keep moving, to be the trickster and challenge Thor, and his expression falls as he glances away. “Then you should keep it.” There’s ice in the air, his emotions bleeding out, betraying the calm in his voice as he holds the braid out and Thor doesn’t miss the tremble in the slender fingers, or the way they curl as though to shelter the braid from his view and he smiles. It might not last. It might just be one moment, in a lifetime, but it’s enough, and his fingers are gentle as he reaches out and carefully curls Loki’s fingers around it, meeting Loki’s gaze when it darts to him, startled, afraid…hopeful.

“Keep it.” He presses a kiss to trembling fingers, before gently pushing Loki’s hand away, the braid cradled protectively, and there’s warmth in his chest as Loki presses it to his chest. A tender gesture that he wouldn’t show to anyone else, and their gazes meet again, understanding blossoming between them.

It’s a declaration of trust.

A promise.

A hope that Loki will stay, a plea for him to return when their paths eventually diverge once more and an unspoken vow to wait for him.  

 


End file.
